One More Thing Before You Go

What makes a crime story stay with you long after you've turned the final page? Is it the mystery? The characters? Or the emotional truth hiding underneath the story? Michael sits down with writer, researcher, and author Rhonda Parker Taylor to explore the psychology behind compelling crime fiction—and how the experiences we carry through life can find their way onto the page. New conversations re...

In this episode Michael sits down with Jessica McGann, a world traveler whose journey took her solo through 30 countries over more than two years. Discover what it’s truly like to experience the world firsthand—and how those experiences shaped the person she became. Jessica’s journey eventually led her into the film and television industry, where she worked behind the scenes on popular productions...

What actually shapes you into who you are today? Is it where you grow up? The choices you make? The people you meet? Or the moments that seem insignificant at the time—but quietly change the direction of your life? For Clifford Brown, the path was anything but predictable. In this conversation, Michael sits down with Clifford Brown, a former Beverly Hills attorney who walked away from a successful...

What if you could leave the place that shaped you… but never really leave it behind? The sounds, smells, stories, traditions, and struggles of our childhood can follow us farther than we ever realize. In this powerful conversation, Michael sits down with Donald Williams, co-author of Born of Nothing: From White Trash and Lintheads to Purpose Across Generations , to explore heritage, identity, belo...

What makes a crime story stay with you long after you've turned the final page? Is it the mystery? The characters? Or is it the emotional truth hiding underneath the story? In this replay of one of Michael's favorite conversations, Michael sits down with writer, entrepreneur, and academic researcher Rhonda Parker Taylor to explore the powerful intersection of storytelling, emotional intelligence,...

What if the most important recipe you ever learned had nothing to do with food? For Chef Don Bowie, it started in his grandmother’s kitchen—and became a lifelong journey through food, culture, entrepreneurship, and community. In this conversation, Michael sits down with celebrity chef and entrepreneur Don Bowie, founder of Taste Kitchen + Bar in Houston, to explore how one early influence can shap...

Some stories don’t just belong to a family. They belong to all of us. What would you do to survive if everything you knew had been taken from you? Martin Bodek's grandfather survived four armies, two world wars, starvation, poison, and a 1,600-mile journey home during World War II. He survived what should have been impossible—and then faced the harder question: How do you build a life after surviv...

What if giving up alcohol didn't mean giving up adventure? Travel is supposed to expand our world. But what happens when the very places we travel to seem to revolve around drinking? A hotel minibar. An airport bar. A champagne toast. A business conference where networking happens over cocktails. A cruise where drinks seem to follow you everywhere. For travel writer Teresa Bergen, traveling alcoho...

What if a story buried in your family for more than a century suddenly asked you to tell it? Brigid Kennedy’s story begins with a real Irish treasure hunter, her great-grandfather Robert Patrick Kennedy, who crossed the Atlantic, married Eudocia Rodrigues in Arequipa, Peru, in 1910—and then disappeared into the Amazon. The story survived in fragments until one night, when Brigid’s grandmother appe...

What if the places that carry humanity's deepest wounds also have the power to heal something within us? In this episode of One More Thing Before You Go , Michael welcomes poet, author, photographer, and adventurer Briana Gervat for a deeply reflective conversation about history, solitude, resilience, and the unexpected ways travel transforms us. In 2022, Briana set out alone on an extraordinary p...

What if the greatest lesson from Hollywood wasn’t about making blockbuster movies—but about living a more focused, creative, and meaningful life? In this episode of One More Thing Before You Go , Michael welcomes Steven Puri, former EVP at DreamWorks and VP at 20th Century Fox, whose career helped shape iconic films including Transformers , Star Trek , Die Hard , and Independence Day . Yet the mos...

What if the greatest challenges of your life were preparing you for your greatest purpose? Resilience isn’t something we’re born with—it is built through adversity, difficult choices, and the moments that quietly redefine who we become. In this cinematic conversation, Michael sits down with Jim Paulk to explore how life’s unexpected setbacks can become the foundation for purpose, personal growth,...

What happens when a man chooses to honor his late mother and grandmother by opening a restaurant run entirely by grandmothers? That question sparked one of our most beloved conversations — and inspired Nonna’s, the heartwarming new film starring Vince Vaughn, Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, and Brenda Vaccaro. In this special Over the Teacup Sunday replay, Michael and Diane — joined...

What if the future isn't something we're trying to predict... but something we're trying to understand about ourselves? The stories we tell about tomorrow often reveal more about today than we realize. In this thoughtful conversation, Michael sits down with author and cultural thinker Amy Bernstein to explore why speculative fiction has become one of the most powerful ways to make sense of an unce...

In this episode, Diane and Michael take a deep dive into Elle, the new prequel series that reimagines Elle Woods’ early life. With their personal connection to Karen McCullah Lutz, the screenwriter behind the original Legally Blonde, they bring a fresh, intimate perspective to the conversation. They discuss: • The show’s premise • Cast, producers & creative team • The 1990s Seattle setting • T...

Some lives force us to ask uncomfortable questions: Who decides who we become? What happens when the identities we’ve built our lives around suddenly disappear? And how do we begin again without pretending the past never happened? In this thoughtful, unhurried conversation, Michael sits down with Hakeem Bourne McFarlane, founder of the Choose Yourself movement, to explore identity, belonging, resi...

Welcome to Part Two of our special two‑part conversation with Leah Renee — the only ex‑Mormon housewife turned stand‑up comedian she’s ever met. In Part One , we explored the life she lived before everything changed: her Mormon upbringing, the early cracks in her identity, the pressure of motherhood, and the moment she realized the life she was living wasn’t truly hers. Now, in Part Two , we step...

What happens when the identity you were handed… no longer fits the person you’re becoming? In Part One of this special two‑part cinematic conversation, Michael sits down with Leah Renee — the only ex‑Mormon housewife turned stand‑up comedian she’s ever met. Before the comedy stages, before the sold‑out shows, before the reinvention… there was a life built inside a belief system she once thought sh...

Art is more than color on canvas — it’s memory, identity, and the way a culture says, “We were here.” In this powerful conversation, Michael sits down with Dr. Archana Srivastava , TEDx speaker, PhD historian, award‑winning artist, and founder of ArtSage and Les Trésors Art Gallery. Her mission is urgent: to save India’s vanishing folk and tribal art forms, some preserved by only a few families le...

What happens when a lifelong storyteller refuses to stay in one lane? In this episode, Michael sits down with Richard Sparks — acclaimed British comedy writer, opera collaborator, and fantasy novelist — to explore a career defined by reinvention, imagination, and the courage to follow creativity wherever it leads. Richard has written for some of the most iconic comedy voices in the UK, crafted lib...

What happens when a Special Forces operator, professional fighter, and lifelong warrior finally meets the one opponent he can’t out‑run: his own nervous system? In this powerful and deeply human conversation, Michael sits down with Tim Thomas , founder of Breathwork in Bed , former Australian Special Forces operator, PTSD survivor, and a man who rebuilt his life one breath at a time. Tim shares ho...

With Father's Day just around the corner, we're reaching back into our library to bring you one of the most moving conversations we've had at this table — and one that has stayed with us long after the microphones turned off. At 72 years old, Marine combat veteran Rand R. Timmerman did something most people half his age will never attempt. He hiked the entire 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail. But this...

What does it mean to keep your voice — your real, human voice — in a world where AI can mimic almost anything? This week, narrator, actor, voice artist, and writer Kris Keppeler joins Michael for a warm, honest, and deeply human conversation about creativity, identity, and staying connected to the people you create for. Kris has narrated more than 50 audiobooks, performed everything from cats to p...

Some conversations stay with you long after the microphones turn off — and this is one of them. This Producer’s Favorite encore episode brings back a powerful, deeply reflective dialogue with Daniel Anderson, a Holistic Success & Legacy Coach whose work helps people break free from burnout, inherited patterns, and the quiet disconnection that keeps them from living out their purpose. Daniel’s...

In this cinematic conversation, Michael sits down with Richard McWhorter , a Beverly Hills–based Private Wealth Advisor with more than 32 years of guiding high‑net‑worth and ultra‑high‑net‑worth individuals — including athletes, entertainers, and multigenerational families — through the most pivotal moments of their lives. Richard’s work goes far beyond financial planning. He is the person people...